續傳燈錄 3.6

3.6

Chan Master Huijue Guangzhao of Mount Langye in Chuzhou was a native of Xiluo. His father served as prefect of Hengyang and died of illness. While escorting the coffin back to Luoyang, the Master passed by the ancient monastery at Mount Yaoshan in Liyang, which felt just like his former dwelling. Because of this, he left home, traveled, and engaged in spiritual inquiry. Having attained the Dharma under Fenyang, he responded to conditions at the Chu River. Propagating the teachings at the same time as Xuedou Mingjue, the four quarters called them the two gates of sweet dew (amṛta). Even today, his lingering influence in Huainan remains as if present. A monk asked, "What is the Buddha?" The Master said, "A bronze head and iron forehead." The monk asked, "What is the meaning?" The Master said, "A bird's beak and fish's gills." He ascended the hall and said, "How wonderful! The Buddhas of the ten directions are originally flowers in the eyes. If you wish to know the flowers in the eyes, they are originally the Buddhas of the ten directions. If you wish to know the Buddhas of the ten directions, they are not flowers in the eyes. If you wish to know the flowers in the eyes, they are not the Buddhas of the ten directions. If you are clear about this, the fault lies with the Buddhas of the ten directions. If you are not yet clear about this, the śrāvakas begin to dance and the pratyekabuddhas look into the mirror. Take care." A monk asked, "Not inquiring about Ānanda's compiling [the scriptures], what was the matter of Kāśyapa's subtle smile?" The Master said, "A fixed time, a fixed season." The monk asked, "Ever since the lamp was divided on Gṛdhrakūṭa, it has shone through past and present down to China." The Master said, "A dot of vermilion, a dot of lacquer." A monk asked, "What is the guest within the guest?" The Master said, "Holding book and sword in hand, paying audience to an enlightened ruler." The monk asked, "What is the host within the guest?" The Master said, "Rolling up the blinds, there is nothing to behold." The monk asked, "What is the guest within the host?" The Master said, "Crossing Mengjin at the third watch of the night." The monk asked, "What is the host within the host?" The Master said, "Sitting alone, subduing the entire realm." A monk asked, "What about when the lotus flower has not yet emerged from the water?" The Master said, "A cat wearing a paper hat." The monk asked, "What about after it emerges from the water?" The Master said, "A dog walking in boots." A monk asked, "Not inquiring about holding up the gavel or raising the whisk, what about blinking the eyes and raising the eyebrows?" The Master said, "Zhaozhou once went to see Nanquan." The monk said, "The student does not understand." The Master said, "Much rain and snow this winter; what can a poor family do?" He ascended the hall and said, "If you wish to know the constantly abiding body, you should observe the rotting corpse. If you wish to know the constantly abiding nature, you should observe the staff. The staff swallows Mount Sumeru; Mount Sumeru swallows the staff. If a patch-robed monk wavers here, the sword's ridge falls upon the shoulder, submitting a deed of surrender; with a chest of iron, he reaches the shore of the ocean." He struck the meditation bench and descended from the seat. He ascended the hall and said, "Seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing are all causes of birth and death. Seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing are precisely the root of liberation. Just like a lion springing back, from south to north, east to west, it has no fixed dwelling. If all of you still do not understand, do not fail old man Śākya! Hōng!" He ascended the hall and said, "Today the mountain monk will speak plainly for you all: patch-robed monks with clear eyes must not go sit in the mud! Take care." He ascended the hall and said, "The heavens are high and immeasurable; the earth is deep and how can it be known? White clouds fly in wisps over the peak; green waters babble swiftly at the ravine's floor. Not inquiring about the phrase of gushing forth in the east and sinking in the west, how do you speak a phrase before birth and after death?" After a long pause, he said, "The weather is cold; go drink tea." He ascended the hall and said, "Haha! What is it? Opening the mouth is already an error of shutting the mouth. A light boat and short oars drift in the heart of the waves; let the straw raincoat and reed hat be torn as they will. Yi!" He ascended the hall and said, "The Buddhas of the ten directions are rotten wooden stakes. The three worthies and ten sages are toilet-cleaning sticks. When you people come here, what will you do?" After a long pause, he said, "If you wish not to incur the karma of the Avīci Hell, do not slander the Tathāgata's wheel of the true Dharma." He ascended the hall and said, "To eliminate wild bandits and sweep away rebellious stars is still a matter on the side of meritorious function. When ruler and minister accord in the Way and the seas are calm and rivers clear, it is still a matter on the side of the Dharmakāya. What is the fundamental matter of a patch-robed monk?" After a long pause, he said, "The golden scale that breaches the net still lingers in the water; on the return road, the stone horse steps out of the gauze cage." He ascended the hall and said, "In receiving words, one must understand the principle; do not establish rules on your own. If anyone can produce an all-pervading phrase, I shall cut my throat and thank him." He ascended the hall, held up his staff, and said, "Sometimes this mountain monk's single blow acts as a heaven-covering net, catching fine falcons and swift sparrowhawks. Sometimes this single blow acts as a woven silk net, gathering clams and scooping prawns. Sometimes this single blow acts as a golden-haired lion. Sometimes this single blow acts as a toad and an earthworm. If this mountain monk gives you a blow, how will you deliberate? If you can discern black from white, you may open your eyes atop the staff and illuminate the four continents. If not yet so, let yourself stand beside the ancient screen, waiting for the painter's brush to enter the picture." He ascended the hall and said, "Striking the water, the fish get headaches; penetrating the woods, the roosting birds are startled. At dusk the drum is not beaten; at noon the third watch is sounded. Venerable Chan practitioners, since it is high noon, why sound the third watch?" After a long pause, he said, "Yesterday I saw the weeping willows green; today I meet the falling leaves yellow." He ascended the hall, held up his staff, and said, "Holding up the staff, there is nothing higher; putting down the staff, what appearance is it? Not inquiring about behind the Skull Peak, how do you speak a phrase of hiding one's body in the stirrups? If you cannot speak it, the staff will speak it." He struck once and returned to the abbot's quarters. He ascended the hall and said, "Advancing forward is death; retreating backward is demise. Neither advancing nor retreating, one falls again into the realm of doing nothing. Why? Although Chang'an is delightful, it is not a place to dwell for long." He ascended the hall and said, "You people spending the summer with me here, I point out five illnesses for you: First, you must not go to the place where for ten thousand miles there is not an inch of grass. Second, you must not lodge alone on an isolated peak. Third, you must not draw the bow and set the arrow. Fourth, you must not settle your body beyond things. Fifth, you must not stagnate in giving life or killing. Why? If there is stagnation in one place, it is difficult to save oneself; if one penetrates all five places, he is called a guiding teacher. When you all go to various places and meet an accomplished master with clear eyes, pass a word to him so that the ancestral style will not decline. If they are ordinary followers, then let them sleep. Why? Boasting of fine clothes in the land of naked people, I think you are far too unaware of the times." He ascended the hall. Because a monk was reading the ninth gate, 'the gate of skillful accomplishment through mental revolution' in the Essay on the Gold Lion of the Huayan, which also comments: 'It is like a one-foot mirror containing layered reflections,' [the Master said,] "If it is so, to say 'there is' is acceptable; to say 'there is not' is also acceptable; to say 'it is wrong' is also acceptable; to say 'it is right' is also acceptable. Although this is so, you must further know that there is an opening atop the staff. If you still do not understand, the staff pierces the lantern, enters the Buddha hall, collides with Śākya, knocks down Maitreya, and the bare pillar claps its hands and roars with laughter. Now tell me: what is it laughing at?" He struck with the staff and descended from the seat. He ascended the hall, held up his staff, and said, "Panshan said: 'The upward path is slippery.' Nanyuan said: 'Precipitous as a thousand-fathom cliff.' Linji said: 'Flint spark and flash of lightning are dull.' Langye has a phrase that settles heaven and earth: each of you, look high! Look high!" He struck with the staff and descended from the seat.